The Year Two children enjoyed a fun, but tiring, start to their topic, Unbelievable Upton, with a trip to Upton Country Park.

Thankfully, despite the warnings of the weathermen, the rain stayed away. The children enjoyed a day of orienteering, bug hunting and den building. We were very lucky to have so many splendid parents who came along to help us.

Take a look at the photos to see a little of the fun we had...

Our reception children have had a very productive end to their 'People Who Help Us' topic, and became people who help others!

They have spent the afternoon washing cars, painting nails and serving refreshments which they made themselves.

All the money raised at this super event will go towards our 'Project Mala' fundraising, which raises money to educate children in India.

We would like to say a very big  THANK YOU to everyone who supported this event.

The Year One children held their 'Fab Finish' on Thursday 22nd May. The mischievous Lord Farquaad was eventually caught after steeling all the fairytales. They were returned to the school after Shrek won an obstacle course race with the dreaded Lord!

The staff and children looked fantastic and really enjoyed the day.

Next year, all infant school children in the UK will be offered a daily free school meal. This week, our School Council had been finding out about the hot school meals. They spent the week keeping details of the hot meals, photographing and describing them, and surveying the pupils to find out their opinions.

They also compared the hot meals with the packed lunches which children brought in from home. They found a big variety in the packed lunches. Most children had sanwhiches and fruit with crsips, biscuits and squash. The School Council found that some packed lunches were very healthy and balanced, whereas others had more snacks, chocolates and crisps.

The School Council came to the opinion that the hot school meals provide a healthy lunch. Today they met with Mrs Brooke, our MP, to share their findings. Each of the School Councillors talked through the menu each day and the proportion of chilren who liked or disliked their lunches (the overwhelming majority of children enjoyed their lunch).

Our school choir recently performed at a community World War One event held outside the library.  Alongside children from the Junior School and the Yarrells School the choir sang a selection of World War One songs to an audience of MPs, councillors, war veterans, community leaders and parents.  Congratulations to everyone involved, including Mr Cole and Mrs Smith (our Choir Masters), as the children sang beautifully.

Today was Upton Infant School's annual Grandparents' Day. Over 100 grandparents joined their grandchildren for some of their lessons in the morning and for a tour of the school. The children took the opportunity to show off their school, and also found out a little bit about what school was like in the grandparent's day.

It is always a pleasure to welcome family into our school, and we hope the granparents enjoyed themselves as much as the children and staff!

Our Year Two Swimming Team (see pictures below) recently took part in a gala against the nearby local schools as part of the Harbour Schools Sports Challenge.  The first half of the gala was spent doing water activities such as swimming through a hoop and collecting objects from the pool floor.  At the end of these activities we were lying in second place.  The second half of the gala was a series of relay races and the grand individual finale.  As Oliver Davis and Evie Pryor finished 1st and 2nd in the individual final we won the races element of the gala.

This meant that overall we were joint winners alongside Lytchett Matravers Primary and so we will share the swimming shield for six months each.

Congratualtions to all the team for their tremendous efforts and success.

Year Two finished their Incredible India topic with a 'Mega Mala' festival. The children performed a Bhangra dance, Indian drumming, sang an Indian song and showed off their ability to count in Hindi.

Parents and children were given the chance to sample some Indian recipes designed by the children for their home learning project.

We were very grateful for support from Taj Indian Restaurant in Corfe Mullen and Wimborne based Tea India for providing prizes for our raffle. Also, friends of the school Mr Cole (no, not the Squirrels teacher!) and Mr Steinwaltz also kindly made generous donations towards our 'Mega Mala' festival to help raise funds for Project Mala.

A number of Year Two children were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to visit Poole Fire Station today, kindly organised by firefighter Warren Hathaway.

Judging by their huge grins, the children thoroughly enjoyed the visit, where they got to ride in a fire engine, dress in firefighters kit and even use the hoses to put out a fire.

It was also evident that Mrs Oldham and Mrs Samways, who accompanied the children, also greatly enjoyed the trip!